What ho, chums!

Well, I’ve had a bit of disappointment this week. I’ve got a press pass for EGX 2017, but due to work/childcare committments, I’m not going to be able to get down there to see all those lovely shiny new games. Sometimes, being an adult – to use the American phrase – ‘sucks’.

I have fond memories of attending game shows as an excitable teenager. One particular show stands out in my memory – it was one of the early Future Entertainment Shows, when they were still a thing. It was about the time that Red Bull was released, and Red Bull reps were handing out cans of the sweet stuff for free. We had no idea what it was, but we eagerly nabbed the free drinks. One of my friends promptly drank six cans in a row, having no idea of the industrial-strength levels of taurine contained in the lethal wake-up brew, and he spent the entire show basically tripping off his tits before undergoing a catastrophic comedown. It wasn’t pretty to watch.

Another stand-out in my memory was the Tokyo Game Show back in 2004. The cosplay in particular was phenomenal, and unlike anything I’d seen before, whole rooms of people with giant cardboard swords and elaborate wigs. It wasn’t long after that that cosplay really started to take off in the UK, and now it’s pretty much standard at any game show worth its salt. But seeing throngs of cosplayers in their colourful glory for the first time was a stirring sight. The guy dressed as Cammy from Street Fighter II was particularly memorable/scary.

So yes, game shows are ace, and I’m pretty sad to be missing out on EGX this year. But there’s always next year…